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Bones is not mine. But it should be.

"Once again, we're so sorry for your loss."

Mrs. Bradford nodded in acknowledgement of Booth's declaration of sympathy. It was very clear, though, that she couldn't see him. Sure, she was looking at him. But she didn't see him. For the rest of her days she would never truly see anybody. She would always be looking beyond the person before her, endlessly searching, her eyes and vision irreversibly clouded and obscured by the shadow of her lost child. A child who would never be able to find her way home.

"I…"

The woman raised a hand to her forehead then lowered it to cover her mouth. Her eyes travelled to the floor. She opened her mouth and left it slackened, unable to find the words. Suddenly, emotion overcame her and she covered the entirety of her face with her hands. Sobs racked her body, her shoulders convulsing with the strength of her grief. Her husband moved to stand behind her, raising a hand to rest firmly on her shoulder. Mind, body and soul were too saturated with loss to recognise the gesture.

Brennan and Booth stood mutely, knowing there was nothing they, or anyone else, could possibly say.

Eventually, breathless words could be heard through the heartbroken cries.

"No parent should ever have to bury a child…"

It was time to go.

The two silently let themselves out. At the doorway, the partners glanced back at the motionless couple. After observing them for a number of seconds, as though this could somehow ease the pain, they shut the door behind them.

Booth was overwhelmed by the vitality and vibrance surrounding them as they made their way back to the car. It seemed incredible that life could continue on out here, unchanged, when it had been so brutally altered within that house. It made him more determined than ever to bring this monster down. They silently settled themselves into the SUV.

Brennan noticed the set in her partner's jaw and the steely glint in his eye. She mightn't know much about reading people, living people anyway, but she was learning. Oh boy, was she ever learning. Of course, she had a very good teacher.

She smiled to herself. Impulsively, she glanced over at Booth. His face had softened somewhat but the unwavering resolution still burned within his gaze. Out of his peripheral vision he could make out a pale, roughly oval, shape pointed in his direction and knew his partner must be looking at him. He glanced over quickly and then returned his eyes to the road.

Her cheeks instantly flushed at being caught examining him. He had noticed the smile gently curving her lips.

"What?"

"Nothing."

This time it was his turn to examine her. Luckily, they were currently stopped in traffic.

"What were you smiling at?"

"I…"

She ducked her head slightly, the smile widening.

"I wasn't smiling."

"You just…right now…you can't deny…I can see…Bones!"

She couldn't help laughing at his spluttering response.

"That was just too easy."

He mock glared at her in astonishment. Suddenly, he reached a hand over and childishly slapped her arm.

Her eyes widened in surprise and her mouth dropped open. Luckily, the corners of her lips were pulled upwards. He was safe. She was taking this as a joke.

Brennan moved her hand to retaliate against his person. He was too quick for her and caught her wrist in mid-air. The two locked gazes, each refusing to back down, engaging in an unrelenting battle of perseverance.

After a number of seconds, an entirely new reason became their sole priority for remaining oblivious to everything else. They became lost in the other's eyes. Brennan could feel her heart rate quicken uncomfortably. If Booth weren't so drawn to the startling blue of her eyes he would have been unable to stop his gaze from dropping, however briefly, to her lips.

Just as Booth was deciding that he was going to go for it and lean in to kiss her, the mood was shattered by the blare of car horns. The two visibly jumped, Booth releasing her wrist as though it scalded him, and settled back into their seats, unconsciously turning towards their respective windows. It appeared that Booth had been so distracted by his captivating partner that he hadn't noticed the traffic begin to move. There was now a significant distance between their car and the one in front of them and other motorists were making their chagrin about this audibly known.

Both laughed nervously. Luckily, there were given an excuse to avoid addressing the embarrassing incident in the ringing of Brennan's phone. She smiled apologetically at her partner's profile before shaking her hair away from her ears and answering the call.

"Brennan."

"Hey, Sweetie."

"Angela." Brennan relaxed into her seat, crossing her legs as she did.

"I was just wondering where you and Booth ran off to. You guys seemed in such a hurry. No doubt it was very important…and intense…"

Brennan could feel her cheeks getting warm and she turned even further towards the window until her back was almost at a right angle to Booth's profile. She raised a hand to partially cover her mouth, as though this would muffle her words in the very silent car.

"How many times…Angela, Booth and I aren't interested in each other like that…we're just partners…"

There was a silence.

"Ok, sweetie, I was actually thinking that wherever you'd gone must have had something to do with the case…and that THAT would be intense…but I LOVE how quickly your mind jumped to other, much dirtier, conclusions."

"Oh."

Brennan squirmed uncomfortably. She chanced a quick peek at Booth. She didn't think Angela was talking particularly loudly…but in a car this quiet, and with little in the line of distraction, it's surprising what people could hear. Booth didn't seem to showing any reaction to the little exchange, but Brennan couldn't shake the feeling that he had heard what had transgressed. His lips seemed a little too tightly pressed together.

"We…we went to ask Caroline's parents about the necklace, but they couldn't tell us anything."

"Right. Are you coming back here now?"

"Yeah, we're in the car. Shouldn't be much longer. Traffic is very heavy, though."

"Ok, well I'll see you when I see you."

Brennan blinked.

"Obviously."

"Bye, sweetie."

Brennan hung up.

"That was Angela."

"I got that."

The next few minutes were spent in silence, occasionally broken by Booth's sporadic tapping of his fingers against the steering wheel.

"So…what was it you and Angela were talking about concerning our interest in each other?"

Brennan had just begun making a little clucking noise when Booth's phone trilled. He held up a hand to silence her before she started.

"Booth."

He nodded. His brow furrowed. Brennan watched worriedly as his knuckles turned white with the force he was using to grip the wheel and the phone.

He terminated the call with a curt, "Bye." He sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping slightly.

"We're making a slight detour, Bones."

Fear fluttered in her stomach.

"Why?" She could barely get the word out, her mouth was suddenly so dry.

"We've got another body. Complete with letter."